The 2021 America's Cup will either be held in Auckland or Italy, Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton confirmed.
Dalton confirmed the official protocol for the 36th America's Cup on Friday morning at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, with a number of changes taking place.
The intent is to host the 36th America's Cup in Auckland, but Dalton told reporters there needs to be infrastructure built - and the construction needs to start by the middle of 2018.
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"The only reason we went to the America's Cup was to bring it back here," he said.
"We're really clear about that - this is where we want to hold it, but we've got nothing in place yet.
"I think it's only responsible for the challengers if there is a natural disaster or whatever happens that we couldn't hold it here.
"If for whatever reason it can't be in Auckland - which is the intention, absolutely the intention - it will go to Italy."
If in Auckland, racing won't take place in the inner harbour, but rather off the coast of North Shore suburbs Takapuna or Milford.
Dalton says they need to get an agreement in place with Auckland by August 30 next year - though that wasn't the only talking point.
Team New Zealand has also imposed new regulations on the nationality of sailors racing for teams.
Twenty percent of sailors in competing teams must have passports or be citizens of that team's country, and the rest must meet residency requirements.
They must reside in that team's country for 380 days from September 1 2018 to September 1 2020.
"It's not an attempt to stop yachtsmen earning a living, but it's an attempt to make a country firstly look at its own before it looks offshore," Dalton said.
Meanwhile, Dalton said the 75-foot monohull boats would still have room for innovation and could even have foiling capability.
Drawings and concept images of the boat will be released on November 30, and the design rules unveiled on March 31 next year. That will give syndicates about a year to design and build the two boats allowed.
Dalton also said Team New Zealand wouldn't rule out the possibility of cyclors featuring.
"Cyclors are not banned and maybe they are the right way to go, maybe they are not. We will have to wait and see how the boat turns out and you could see them back."
Luna Rossa will organise the challenger series while Team NZ will organise the America's Cup.
Both teams have agreed that former holders Team USA had steered the 166-year-old event too far from its traditional roots and priced the event beyond the reach of several challengers.
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